Hello everyone! Time flies by so quickly and Zexal Month 2026 is already approaching! This year's theme is Zodiac, hosted by your faithful mods Pyra (@pyrachan), Iris (@scattered-irises) and Fla (@larmegliamori).
This year, our theme will be centric around both the Lunar Zodiac animals and the ones usedin Astrology/Astronomy. Note that you can follow the prompt or draw the characters with/dressed up as the animal. We are here to encourage your creativity.
Before we show the prompts, I just have one thing to mention regarding OCs. While we do love seeing them, this is ZEXAL Month and we on the mod team have decided that OC content will only be accepted on designated days (we have marked these in the prompts). However, if you do want to share your OCs even more, ZEXAL OC Week is hosted in January AND if you tag the event blog (@zexalocsweeek), they'll be happy to reblog your stuff!
Without further ado, here are the prompts for next month. Remember to tag us when we start on August 1st!
Week 1 - August 3 to 7
3rd - Aries/Goat: Favourite Character/DuelĀ
Aries is the āfirstā of the Zodiac and the Goat symbolises creativity and compassion. As the first of the days, introduce yourself! Whoās your favourite character? Alternatively, whatās your favorite duel?
Mythical creatures like the centaur and the dragon are the cornerstone of Zexal. Share whatās your favourite dragon, creature or Duel Monster!
6th - Dog: Favourite Secondary character/sidekick
The Dog symbolises loyalty, honesty and courageousness. Tell us about your favourite secondary character or sidekick - someone willing to stick with our main characters!
7th - Virgo: Favourite female character
The sign for Virgo is often represented by a maiden, typically with wheat, to symbolise the harvest. Show us your favourite female character in Zexal!Ā
Week 2 -Ā August 10 to 14
10th- Aquarius: OC day
Aquarius is a star sign associated with innovation, independence and imagination. If you have an OC, hereās your chance to show them off. Otherwise, tell us an original concept you liked about Zexal.
11th - Gemini: Favourite groups of peopleĀ Ā
Gemini are sociable, commutative, and ready for fun. Theyāre one of the few signs represented by more than one being (the twins). Show us your favourite groups of people? Whether they be siblings, the Barians, the Numbers Club, or some other group.
12th - Snake: Favourite Episode
The Snake is associated with wisdom, intellect and introspection. Let us know about your favourite episode. Why is it your favourite episode?
13th - Taurus/Ox: Beauty/FashionĀ
Taurus is associated with comfort and beauty while the Ox is associated with inner-strength and strong will. So show us a character you like in some pretty clothes or something fashionable (yes, this is an excuse to play dress-up).Ā
14th - Monkey: ??? Day. (Try and guess)
The Monkey is associated with tricks and playfulness, so weāve decided weāre not telling you what the prompt is! Try guess it based off this riddle and we will reveal it on the 14th:
Time is idle
Minds run wild
Now whatever is there to do?
Answer this riddle wonāt you?
Week 3 -Ā August 17 to 21
17th-Ā Rat: Adaptability/AUĀ
The Rat is considered as resourceful and adaptable. Show your character in an alternate universe! Has something changed? Are they in a whole new world? Are they in your current fandom? Any AU!
18th - Rabbit: Favourite ShipsĀ Ā
The Rabbit is associated with building harmonious relationships. Whether harmonious or not, share with us your favourite ships. OCs and self ships are allowed in on the fun too.
19th - Pisces: Dream/FantasyĀ
Pisces is associated with art, music and dreams. What do you think Zexal characters dream of? Alternatively, what do they fantasise about?
20th - Horse: Sports day
The Horse is energetic, proactive, and physically-able. Did you know Yumaās Japanese VA, Tasuku Hatanaka, outran a horse? Show the characters doing some sort of sports or showing their physical prowess (dueling during sports optional).
21st - Cancer: Past lives/Beach day prompt
Cancer, the crab, is associated with family, history and understanding oneself. Show us the past life of a character (whether canon or fanon)! Alternatively, take the Zexal Characters out for a much-needed beach episode.
Week 4 - Ā August 24 to 28
24th-Ā Libra: Justice/ConflictĀ
Libra is represented by the scales and are symbols of justice. Create something with this theme in mind! Are you putting Vector on trial for all of his crimes? Are you reviving the cat vs. dogs conflict with Cathy and Dog-chan?
25th - Scorpio: Death/MysteryĀ
Scorpio is associated with great emotional depth and mysteries. Whatās a part about Zexal that never felt resolved to you? Zexal theories! Go as wild as you want! Could Astral possibly know the Neo Spacians?! Alternatively, Scorpio is also associated with death so tell us what death was the saddest in the show.
26th - Leo/Tiger: Leader/KnowledgeĀ
The Lion and Tiger are respected as the king of beasts in different cultures. Similarly, they are also symbols of knowledge. Share with us a part of Zexal lore that went unnoticed/something you noticed that others may have not?
27th - Capricorn: Time/DutyĀ
Capricorn is associated with stability and duty, able to last the test of time. What memories do you have of Zexal that stick with you, whether it be from the fandom or when you were watching the show? Is there something you realise with the time away from the show?
28th - Pig: Hurt/ComfortĀ
The Pig is compassionate as it is emotional. Todayās all about putting a character in situations because angst is fun. Feel free to have someone comfort the character afterwards or not.
Week 5 - August 31 - Rooster: Summary/Goodbye
With the Roosterās crow, we bid goodbye to another Zexal Month and look forward to new beginnings. Whatās ahead in the Zexal Characterās futures? Your futures? What did you like about Zexal Month?
************
Not vibing with the main prompts? No worries, here are some alternative prompts you can play with and replace with any number of days.
I can't believe it, it was 6 years. But I'm back to tumblr. I'm very desperate right now :(
Last years were very hard for me. I lost a lot of time because of health issues. Then I lost my Boosty with all the people who followed me there (got the new page back now, but not followers). After that, Twitterās algorithms completely ruined my reach, my works barely get any likes now.Not to mention, far fewer people commission art these days because of AI everywhere. Compared to last year, I have drastically fewer commissions. I know I can't compete with AI, and that soon I'll have to look for another job. But I don't want to give up on the work I love so much just yet!
So, yeah, if anyone reading this needs art, please consider me! My art may not be the greatest, but it has no AI. I put a lot of soul into it. And I respect all of my clients. Anyone who worked with me can confirm it. Also, I always will be grateful for donations/tips on my boosty:
https://boosty.to/autumnsakura
Hello, Zexal fans! Zexal Month 2024 is just around the corner and, for this year, we're doing the ABCs of Zexal! That's right, this year, our prompts are just based on the letters of the alphabet. Feel free to just use the titles (like A is for Astral) as the prompt or look at the following text for ideas. We canāt wait to see what art/writing/edits/cosplay/etc you produce for us!
If you are joining us for the first time: we have a list of prompts with suggestions attached! They're not hard rules though, so you can freely skip some or combine them. Tag your creations #zexal month 2024 and we'll make sure to reblog them all! Make sure to @zexalmonth on your posts as well!
Week 1: Introductions
Weāre going straight into it this year! For this week, introduce yourself and share with us something you like about our favourite warring factions!
1st: A is for Astral
Make something involving our favourite, naked protagonist. Alternatively, draw something related to the Astral World. You can draw a character as a resident of the Astral World if you like.
2nd: B is for Barian
Share with us which Barian Lord is your favourite or something you like about the world! Maybe even make another character you like a Barian.
Week 2: C to G!
5th: C is for Chaos
Chaos is both a force of evil and the essence of life in Zexal. For this prompt, you can go either way. Share the craziest thing you enjoyed about Zexal or put your favourite character in a chaotic situation. Alternatively, draw a character in Zexal getting corrupted by Chaos.
6th: D is for Duel
Whatās your favourite duel in the series? What characters would you have liked to see duel?
7th: E is for Enemy
Oneshot villains like the Fallguys, the Arclights, Don Thousand? A heroās journey is only as good as its bad guys so letās give them some appreciation! What do you like about them?
8th: F is for Friendship
Whatās you favourite friendship in the series? Alternatively, what friendship would you have liked to see? What two characters would have had a good friendship?
9th: G is for Gate
The gate to the Astral world can also link to other worlds. This is our crossover prompt! Throw the Zexal characters to another world/fandom youāre in at the moment or bring other characters
to the world of Zexal.
Week 3: H to L!
12th: H is for Hobby
Whether itās a character doing your hobbies or what you have headcanoned for them, show a Zexal Character (or characters) enjoying themselves with a hobby outside of card games!
13th: I is for Icicles
Whether itās icicles because itās winter right now or icicles as in the stuff you eat at the beach, itās time to give our faves a treat! Throw everyone in a beach episode or in a cabin under the snow...
14th: J is for Justice (Or Jail)
Tell us what you thought was unfair in Zexal or show us a character that you think should be punished. Maybe show us bringing it into your own handā¦
15th: K is for KATTOBINGU
Kattobingu is the will to never give up without giving it your all. Itās taking a chance and moving forward with courage. Whatās something positive youāve gained from Zexal? Good memories?
Fun experiences in the fandom? Friends? Share us something good youāve gotten from Zexal or just draw characters with the Kattobingu spirit!
16th: L is for location
There are so many pretty places in Zexal. Scenery appreciation prompt. Whatās a place in Zexal youād like to go to or would have liked to see more of in Zexal.
Week 4: M to Q!
19th: M is for Monsters
Whether itās a literal Duel Monster or characters that are monsters (Black Mist, Don Thousand, Tron, Dr Faker, etc.), a monster is a monster. Sshow us what you like about them.
20th: N is for Numbers
Letās give our favourite MacGuffin some love. Whatās your favourite Number? What design you like? Feel free to include non-Anime Numbers here.
21st: O is for Originality
There are a lot of OCs in the Zexal. Share them with us and tell us about them. Alternatively, show us some new outfits for one or members of the Zexal crew!
22nd: P is for Powers
Photon mode, Barian transformations, Arclight crests, ZEXAL. Zexal has so many powers in the show. Whatās your favourite? If you have an OC, feel free to show their powers if they have any.
23rd: Q is for Quotes
Zexal has both quotes that hit like a truck and lines like āYou just summoned your mom.ā Show the scene that has the Zexal quote you like!
Week 5: R to V!
26th: R is for Ruins
Whether weāre talking about the literal ruins the characters go through the series or the past (the ruin of the self), itās all about our charactersā history. How were the characters when they were
young? How will they be in the future? How would they be if they had a past life?
27th: S is for Siblings
The Arclight siblings, the Kamishiro Twins, Yuma and Akari, Haruto and Kaito. There are so many familial relationships in Zexal. Show your favourite sibling group being a family or combine
them together!
28th: T is for Tag Duel
Did you like the Tag Duels in Zexal? Who do you wish you could have seen Tag Duel? Show us two characters teaming up!
29th: U is for Utopia
AU day! Show us your AUs! Alternatively, show us something you wish to have seen from Zexal.
30th: V is for Victory
Today is the last day of Zexal Month! We made it to the end! What did you like about Zexal Month? Also share with us what you liked from Zexal.
Bonus Prompts:
W is for Wonderwing
X is for Xyz Change
Y is for Yesterday
Z is for Zexal
Ć is for Aeon
Č is for gift
Ć° is for thoughts
āAnyone can overlay if they try.ā
āThis isnāt goodbye!ā
āIād rather do this with anyone else.ā
Can't wait to see what August has to bring!
-Mod Fla
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Going to be streaming me playing Yu-Gi-Oh Duel Links again in the Rush Duel World Qualifier. My goal is to be in the Top 20 by when it ends at midnight.
Here we go with the shipping post! Let's make this easy with EVERYBODY LOVES YUMA! @zexalweek
Where is the key to indicate what each of the different colored and shaped lines mean? There isn't one! It is my ambiguous abstract graph system! So I'll explain each connection! Of course these are all just my silly interpretation and could be totally different in another iteration so don't take any of this too seriously.
Astral = This is divine love here. They have become one several times and will always be connected to each other.
Shark = They have an intense icy-hot relationship that fluctuates between intimate passion with each other and long periods of avoidance & distance. Despite that, a very strong relationship.
Kotori = A solid relationship built on trust and mutual respect. Kotori values Yuma's most distinct character traits and he sees a strength in her that nobody else does.
Tetsuo = I feel like this one is overlooked a lot but I think Tetsuo has a very strong respect and admiration for Yuma. While at the same time Yuma feels relaxed around Tetsuo because he has seen Yuma at his worst the most. Perhaps not a very sexual or romantic relationship but strong platonic love here at least.
Anna = Despite some conflicts and lots of miscommunication they have a hot friends with benefits relationship. Anna comes to town and has an intense night of adventures with him. And then leaves and doesn't really talk to him until she comes back around again whenever that may be.
Vector = A toxic relationship where neither person can quit the other. Everybody around knows they are awful for each other and yet they won't listen to any of that. They are hooked and addicted to each other in all the worst ways possible.
Alit = A very spicey relationship with high sexual tension. They are prone to party together and pull others like Kotori or Gilag in on their kinky fun!
III = A soft fluffy relationship with lots of romance and cuddling. Although it does have spikes of high intense passion. Although they get embarrassed about it and have trouble speaking directly about it.
Kaito = A relationship with a fair amount of conflict and unshared feelings. But when they are vulnerable with each other they really bond and connect with each other. Kaito enjoys pushing Yuma's buttons and limits.
Every body else = assume everybody else is hopelessly in love with Yuma but Yuma's harem is too large for them to get noticed by him.
It has been a very long time since I wrote a fanfic. But duke_kurai made a request of me! I posted both my first draft and a revision of it. You can read it on AO3!
Please forgive my low-level graphic design skills. This prompt is about putting characters in new clothes. Well in the Zexal manga at one point, Kotori and Cathy put on cute dresses. So I figured it be fun if we put Anna and Rio, who don't exist in the manga, in those outfits as some kind of weird alternate universe thing. I welcome anyone to do this better or redraw it. @zexalmonth
I am going to be very simple for this one. To honor the Barian Emperors I am going to post more recent cards that everybody might not be aware of that pay tribute to them and have amazing art! I am showing restraint here and posting all of Shark's newer cards like N.As.H. Knight. @zexalweek
So this theme is supposed to talk about our favorite character. But again I feel like I have talked about Yuma and Vector so many times. It would be cool to talk about underappreciated main characters like Tron or Durbe. But I figured I wanted to do this like the Numbers post and instead look at the characters that are nobody's favorite character! So I am going to go through the minor characters in Zexal, note anything special about them and then make-up what happens to them after the series. Going to be another longer post! @zexalmonth
I'm going to start with Kotori's friends. We see Kotori spend most of her time with the Number's club but honestly I feel like off-camera she probably spends a lot of time with them off-camera throughout the whole series. Even though they are extremely minor characters in the series I feel like they are an important but separate group of friends that Kotori treasures. Epilogue-wise they stay friends with Kotori for a long time and maybe at like Kotori's birthday party they even start to become friends with the Number's club as well. Although Rio is annoyed by how much they like Ryoga.
Let's keep talking about classmates but talking about a bunch of characters that were mostly one-ofs at the beginning of Zexal II.
Except for Taichi/Spencer who debuted early and gets tricked by Tokunosuke/Flip a lot. He was also an important enough character to appear in Arc-V! So I am going to say after Zexal he got so tired of being bullied that fled to another dimension and in Arc-V's Heartland he ended up murdering the Arc-V version of Tokunosuke/Flip.
Then we have the student council guy. Not much to say about him honestly except that he becomes really good friends with Todoroki/Caswell after the series. Sure.
The flower lady continues her flower club and goes on to become a surprisingly good duelist with her Plant Burn strategy.
The comics drawing guy goes on to become an award-winning comic book artist for her his comic called, THE LUKEMAN!
One more notable classmate, Yatagarasu. I guess he is named that as a reference to being a good soccer player but why waste such a good name on a nobody Yugioh character! Yatagarasu is an iconic Yugioh card that is responsible for creating the first ban list! I say after the series he keeps simping for Rio for some time until he meets a certain someone else on this list...
Before we leave the school we need to talk about this teacher. This guy totally goes to jail for cyberterrorism. Everything in episode 3 anf 4 wasn't an act.
Moving on to World Duel Carnival! This Soccer deck guy, he dates Yatagarasu. Speaking of dating, Construction Boy dates Anna for a little bit but she ends up dumping him. Camera guy develops a crush on Akari and becomes her stalker until she gets a restraining order put on him and eventually he ends up in jail for illegal pictures. Then the Tomato guy dies of a heart attack at a young age.
Can't forget good old Charlie McCoy! This guy has one of the only on-screen kisses in all of Yugioh ever! Thus guy! You know what, I don't have anything else to say about him.
Let's move on to one-off villains! The gangster duo from episodes 11 and 12 who took advantage of Shark end up teaming up with the first guy in Zexal II the Barians brainwashed. Together their form a criminal empire that dominates the underworld. Until the Zexal version of Ushio/Trudge takes them down.
Speaking of gangsters. Did you know that only 2 fusion monsters were ever summoned in all of Zexal? Kaito summoned 1, Twin-Photon Lizard. And these guys summoned the other! They go on to become edgelord duel champions.
Again remember this guy that worshipped Kaito for literally no reason? Yeah that is all I have to say about him. He is just funny to think about.
What I want to say about Anna's friend who get married would make this post NSFW so I ma just going to skip them...
We see the mothers of most of the Numbers Club. But did you remember that Tetsuo/Bronk also has a hot sister? Just feels like wasted potential. They could have done so much with her character!
Finally we come to this idol. Fun fact, when Girag was hinted to be coming to Duel Links, a lot of people thought this idol was being added to the game as a playable character! In episode 92, Shark plays the guitar in a band with her. So my final post-Zexal headcanon is that her and Shark are friends-with-benefits on the down-low.
Hopefully you have enjoyed this very silly list of forgettable characters. I'm sorry if your favorite was so forgettable thaat they couldn't even make this list.
Fell behind on Zexal Month as this one took some time and you know life is complicated. So in the past I made a super long remix of Zexal Sound Mix which can be listened to HERE. So this year I wanted to scale down to a shorter remix. So I decided instead of focusing on the awesome background music in Zexal itself, I wanted to celabrate how awesome the music in Duel Links is and how much it pays respect to the original music! So please enjoy this short medley of Zexal music in Duel Links! @zexalmonth
So today we are supposed to talk about our favorite Duel Monster or Number specifically. I feel like I always share that clip of Beyond The Hopeās Summoning so going to do something a little bit different this time. A lot of different Numbers get used in both the anime and manga. But the Numbers that always fascinated me are the ones released in the card game after both had ended. For a fanfic I have wanted to write for a long time would be a rewrite from a different point of view and a genre shift. One of the goals of that fanfic would be to all Numbers 1 through 100 get used in some way so I have spent a long time thinking about these 30 unused Numbers and how they would be used in the series. So this post is going to go through all 30 cards and I will explain who I think should use each one. Some are very obvious and self-explanatory but some others are very weird and out there. So hopefully this post is amusing and maybe educational. Be warned it will be very long! @zexalmonth
Tron. Making it his 3rd Number and being tied with IV for Numbers used.
This is a bit of a weird one because theĀ āWyrmā monster type didnāt come out until Arc-V so it literally couldnāt have existed in Zexal. Despite that though I assign this card to Mizael. I feel like all the Barians would have at least 1 backup Number 1-100 that isnāt their Legendary (Mythyrian) Number. Mizael is a dragon tamer and this is close to a dragon but also a huge edgelord.
Space-themed monster. This is totally Vās number. Psychic type monsters are even used by his dad and his brother, III. Sadly only raising Vās number count to 2 and behind the rest of his family as we will see. Alternatively, in the manga this would belong to Eviluder who used Number 42: Galaxy Tomahawk (which I would also assign to V to being his Number count to 3).
Anna of course! She even summons it in Duel Links! Making this card the only card in this list to appear in a semi-canon Zexal story!
Cathy. And honestly it seems so perfect for her style.
III. Giving him a 3rd Number (Not counter Number 32) and getting him to keep up with IV.
This is definitely the single hardest card to assign on this list. I am simply going to give it to Rokujuro because the card has old man vibes.Ā
Durbe. That might seem weird but what is this monster holding and what meme is Durbe most famous for? BOOKS! Durbe very much seems like theĀ āprophetā character archetype.
Kotori! Her name means little bird and I feel like the colors would even match her style.Ā
Gilag. Another kind of weird one but his archetype is Hands after-all. They even have a similar body type.Ā Ā
So you are probably thinking yet another Number for Yuma. But actually one other character in the series has played Gogogo Golem. Yup! The man who Yuma got his deck from! Tsukumo Kazuma! Yumaās dad totally deserves his own number!
Cool 3-headed FIRE dragon. I feel like either Mizael or Kaito could have this one but I am going to give this one to Kaito. This was definitely one of those initial 10 Numbers Kaito had already hunted before the series started.
Alit. Okay hear me out because I know this is a stretch. This is a FIRE monster and only Alit plays those. Few characters across all Yugioh series play FIRE monster. But also I headcanon that Alit would totally be obsessed with reality/celebrity cooking TV shows or just a huge fan of Food Wars! I know we donāt see that side of him in the show but the same energy is there.
Going real obscure here with Jin (Fortuno in the dub). The guy that worshipped Kaito for no real reason and had both Number 11 and 16. Yeah, letās give him a 3rd Number as if he needed another but come one this card has his style.
Only one character uses dice and luck. Charlie McCoy! I donāt blame you if you donāt remember him either. Sadly not the last time he will be on this list.
I take it back. This is the hardest. Being a sky prison I feel like Eliphas would vibe with this, maybe after being corrupted and made evil by its influence. Alternatively for the manga, I really want to give Luna a Number and sure this makes enough sense if you stretch it.
Obviously Shark but more specifically Nasch. If you want to be spicey you could say this belonged to past-life Nasch.
Okay I donāt have a lot of reasoning for this but I strongly feel like this card belongs to Droite. She uses Butterfly Assassins and this guy is totally an assassin.Ā
So you could easilly say Number 96: Dark Mist for this one. But for a more creative option I am going to Tsukumo Akari gets corrupted by this Number as she is chasing a story. Alternatively in the manga, Shadow would use this as his Number 48: Shadow Lich is on of the 3 monsters in the background and it also fits him.
Iām breaking the rules here. This Number belongs to Hiragi Yuzu from Arc-V who ended up in Zexal while dimension-hopping.Ā
This just has to be Astral of course.
Alitās true Number!
Anna! She even has a voice line for it in Duel Links apparently!
Charlie McCoy yet again!
Gaucheās number!
I get both Rio and Droite vibes from this one. But sadly reaching into the obscure makes the most sense here with Aika Hanazoe (Lotus Hanazoe) who was Rioās first on-screen duel and usedĀ Battlecruiser Dianthus.Ā
I really wish I could tell what was going in this artwork but every version it just looks weird. I feel like it would be a Cyberse monster now a days. I feel like you could this off as belonging to Vector. But more so on the manga side I could totally see this as Kyoji Yagumo card, a fitting 8th Number for him.
So obviously a Kaito card but what if instead this was used by Haruto to backup and support his brotherās battles? Haruto does use a Number (28) so why not give him a cool supportive Number as well.
A DARK version of Mizaelās Legendary Number (46) so I canāt in good consciousness give this to Mizael and it doesnāt fit Kaito either. So I am actually going to give this to Don Thousands as a means to corrupt Mizael and others.
On the anime side this belongs exclusively to Dark Zexal. But for the manga, this clearly belongs to EāRah whose ace monster was Anti-Hope God Of Despair. Yeah this totally the Numbers version of that card.
